Under FAA JAA IKO rulings, it is mandated that if and when an emergency is declared by an airborne plane, ATC immediately diverts all incoming traffic and gives priority to the emergency situation. Most, if not all, of the events we have described as emergency are official emergencies. However, sometimes they are incorrectly reported as emergencies by our sources, have been downgraded from official emergency status, or are believed to be emergencies by passengers in fear for their lives.
Cathay Pacific flight CX-3290 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on June 19th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane took off for Anchorage, Alaska, but had to turn back after the crew noticed a gear problem.
The plane landed safely after dumping excess fuel. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Atlasjet flight KK-9764 had to make an emergency landing in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 18th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Tbilisi, Georgia, but had to turn back due to a lightning strike.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-116 had to return and make an emergency landing at Dallas Love Field, Texas, on June 16th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Albuquerque, New Mexico, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Envoy Air flight MQ-3375 had to divert for an emergency landing in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 17th.
The Embraer ERJ-175 plane heading from Springfield, Missouri, to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, was diverted due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All thirty-nine passengers and four crew members remained unharmed.
GOL Transportes Aereos flight G3-1713 made an emergency landing in Cuiaba, Brazil, on June 16th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Brasilia, Brazil, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-1422 had to return and make an emergency landing in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 16th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for San Jose, California, but had to return shortly afterwards due to cabin temperature problems.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and fifty-seven passengers and five crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-881 returned to O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, on June 16th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane took off for Narita International Airport, Japan, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine problem.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-16 made an emergency landing in Hamburg, Germany, on June 16th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane flying from Frankfurt, Germany, was descending toward Hamburg when the crew requested emergency assistance due to smell of smoke in cockpit and cabin.
The plane continued for a safe landing. The passengers were examined by medical teams at the airport while four crew members were taken to hospital.
Air Astana flight KC-151 had to return and make an emergency landing in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 16th.
The Embraer ERJ-190 plane took off for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, but had to return shortly afterwards due to failure of the cabin air conditioning system.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Cathay Dragon flight KA-296 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on June 16th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Hanoi, Vietnam, was descending toward Hong Kong when the crew noticed smell of smoke in the cockpit and requested priority landing.
The plane landed safely. There were one hundred and fifty-nine people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-208 had to divert and make an unscheduled landing at Raleigh–Durham International Airport, North Carolina, on June 15th.
The Boeing 757-200 plane heading from Orlando, Florida, to Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
AirAsia flight Z2-612 made an emergency landing in Manila, Philippines, on June 15th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Davao, Philippines, was descending toward Manila when the crew requested emergency assistance due to an engine failure.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All one hundred and fifty-nine passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
LOT Polish Airlines flight LO-91 had to return for an emergency landing in Warsaw, Poland, on June 15th.
The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Beijing, China, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an issue with cabin pressurization.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Kalitta Air flight K4-248 made an emergency landing in Leipzig, Germany, on June 14th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane flying from Delhi, India, was on final approach to Leipzig when the crew reported a flaps problem and went around.
The plane subsequently landed safely on second approach.
Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Germania Flug flight GM-3225 had to return and make an emergency landing in Pristina, Kosovo, on June 14th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Zurich, Switzerland, but had to turn back after a phone battery started emitting smoke.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-1239 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 13th.
The Boeing 737-900 plane heading from Miami, Florida, to Chicago, Illinois, was diverted after smell of smoke was noticed in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. There were one hundred and fifty-five people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Cathay Dragon flight KA-318 made an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on June 13th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Busan, South Korea, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a cabin pressurization issue.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
KLM flight KL-1793 returned to Amsterdam, Netherlands, on June 13th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Munich, Germany, but had to turn back after the crew noticed an issue with the flight controls.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Air India flight AI-937 had to divert for an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on June 13th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from Kozhikode, India, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was diverted after a burning odor was noticed in the cockpit.
The plane landed uneventfully. All sixty-two people aboard remained safe.
Aeroflot flight SU-1490 had to make an emergency landing in Salekhard, Russia, on June 13th.
The plane flying from Moscow, Russia, was descending toward Salekhard when the crew requested emergency assistance due to an engine fire indication.
The plane landed safely. There were forty-two people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-72 made an emergency landing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on June 13th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane flying from Atlanta, Georgia, was descending toward Amsterdam when the crew noticed a hydraulic leak.
The crew subsequently performed an alternate landing gear extension and continued for a safe landing.
All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
TAROM flight RO-372 made an emergency landing in Brussels, Belgium, on June 13th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Henri Coanda International Airport, Romania, but had to turn back after the crew noticed a technical issue with one of the engines
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Brussels Airlines flight SN-357 made an emergency landing in Brussels, Belgium, on June 12th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, but had to turn back due to issues with the weather radar.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-956 had to return and make an emergency landing in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Geneva, Switzerland, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an equipment cooling issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The plane was a replacement for the original aircraft assigned for the flight, which had returned earlier due to loss of cabin pressure.
United Airlines flight UA-956 had to return for an emergency landing in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Geneva, Switzerland, but had to turn back due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed back safely Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
